


Not A Saint

by romanfunkboy



Series: Sainthood [1]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: (or is it), Holy Imagery courtesy of brad marchand, M/M, Pining, Unrequited Love, slight internalised homophobia but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24455461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanfunkboy/pseuds/romanfunkboy
Summary: Patrice is not a saint. He sins. He really does.
Relationships: Patrice Bergeron/Brad Marchand
Series: Sainthood [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1778587
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	Not A Saint

**Author's Note:**

> not beta-ed hahaha sorry i will reread and correct any mistakes.

Patrice hates it when people call him “Saint Patrice”. They talk about how he is perfect, on and off the ice. How he can do no wrong. He is the boy next door. Patrice doesn’t like it because he isn’t a saint, he’s as human as anyone else is.

He sometimes tries to fight it; he tries chirping at opponents, but it awkwardly comes off as friendly banter. He gets dirty hits and he thinks about dropping his gloves but hesitates. He needn’t wait long because a black blur zooms past him and there is Brad and the guy wrestling with each other. After the fight he picks up the guy’s stick and hands it to him before he realises what he was doing. Dang.

The thing is, being called a saint makes Patrice uncomfortable because it reminds him of how he isn’t really a good guy. A decent fella wouldn’t have the same weird thoughts Patrice has and the odd dreams on lonely nights. A decent guy doesn’t think about holding his liney’s hands or kissing his teammate on rainy nights. A saint definitely won’t think about Brad’s thighs, or the tattoo on the side of his torso, or those smirking lips wrapped around-

The point is Patrice sins as much as the next person, if not more, and he desperately wants everyone to clue in on this without having to shout “I think about banging my best friend and teammate!” on top of a mountain to the world.

Brad was laughing and elbowing him in the locker room after the game, teasing him about handing the stick back to the guy and calling him “Perfect Patrice”. Despite hearing Brad calling him “perfect” caused a fluttering sensation in his chest, he started to panic because he feels like he’s lying to everyone when people call him that, and now it feels like he’s lying to Brad and it makes him feel worse.

“Marchy, you know I’m not perfect.”

Brad throws his head back and laughs again, the sound like a song to Patrice’s ears. (Tuukka described it more like an annoying foghorn.)

“What do you mean man? You’re like amazing, perfect. You’re always the best, Bergy. Like Jesus. Or God.”

Patrice wants to argue but Brad looks up at him with a gaze shining with admiration and fondness, his tone heartachingly sincere and his smile reaching up to his eyes. It catches Patrice off guard and his reply gets stuck in his throat. Brad pulls him in for a hug and Patrice feels the heat from Brad’s shirtless body seep through his base layer shirt. He wishes he can feel Brad’s bare skin against his own skin but he rather that not happen in the locker room with the other boys around. Brad pats his arm and leaves to shower, leaving Patrice standing there feeling his heart swell and shatter all at once.

Patrice is not a saint, because he wants Brad in a way a best friend shouldn’t. But Brad likes girls, not men. Plus, Brad would have freaked out and it would affect their chemistry on ice, and it would affect the team. It’s really better if Brad doesn’t know.

So maybe Patrice is a saint because he is willing to deny himself happiness, even if it’s forever.

**Author's Note:**

> maybe i'll write one from brad's pov who knows


End file.
